Home Cures for Insomnia to Help You Get Some Sleep

For as long as Doug Seibold can remember, he’s had a rocky relationship with sleep. “When I was young, I struggled to fall asleep, but as I got into my twenties, I started to have real issues with ‘terminal insomnia’ — when you wake up before dawn, or in the middle of the night, and can’t fall back to sleep. This plagued me for decades,” says the 59-year-old Chicago-based book publisher.

He says he tried numerous fixes: limiting caffeine in the afternoon and beyond, limiting alcohol and late night eating, creating a comfortable sleep space, and sticking to a consistent bedtime and wakeup time. “But terminal insomnia remained a problem, especially during springtime, as the days lengthened, or during periods of high stress,” he says.

Short-term insomnia can be triggered by a life-altering event, stress, physical reasons, or something else that’s temporary in nature, says Zeeshan Khan, DO, a pulmonologist who is the medical director of the Deborah Institute of Sleep Medicine at Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, New Jersey. It’s normal if this happens to you on occasion; and usually, when the disruption that triggers the sleepless ends, the sleep problem starts to subside, too.

But if you’re losing sleep at least three times a week for three months or longer, that’s considered chronic insomnia, says Dr. Khan. “And unfortunately, chronic insomnia just becomes a vicious cycle where it stays persistent over time.”

If you’re having trouble sleeping, it absolutely warrants a discussion with your doctor. She can help you determine if there’s something more serious going on with your health that’s disrupting your sleep and needs to be addressed, such as undiagnosed sleep apnea, other medical conditions, or psychological stress, Khan says. A doctor can also investigate what else might be triggering your sleeplessness, such as a new medication or a recent life change.

Discuss your daily and nightly routines with your doctor, and whether the following insomnia solutions alone might help you get back to sleep, or if another approach like cognitive behavioral therapy or medication might be needed, too. (If your sleep troubles are chronic, by definition, sleep hygiene strategies alone will likely not resolve the issues.) Even if you do need additional treatment, practicing good sleep hygiene (by following these good-sleep practices) is still important.

So, whether you’re following these get-back-to-sleep tips on their own or along with other insomnia treatment, here are some at-home, no-prescription fixes that can help your slumber.

1. Follow a Routine

“Keep a consistent sleep schedule,” says Khan. “It’s very important to go to bed and wake up on a consistent basis, because the wake-up time is the anchor to the circadian rhythm [which regulates the body’s 24-hour sleep-wake cycle].”

It may be tempting to lie in on the weekends or sleep less during a busy workweek, but Khan says if you want to get adequate sleep in the long run, don’t vary your amount of time in bed by more than 30 minutes in either direction.

2. Follow the 2-Activity Rule

“The bed is meant for only two things: sleep and sex,” says Sanjeev V. Kothare, MD, the codirector of the pediatric sleep program and the director of pediatric neurology at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York.

All other activities (watching TV, working on your computer, texting on your phone, eating) should be done in a different room. That way, your brain will associate being in the bedroom with sleep. If you can, keep devices out of the bedroom entirely, he adds. “Blue light emanating from your computer or your phone tells the brain to stay awake, plus the content revs up your brain.”

3. Keep the Mornings Bright

When it is time to wake up, open the blinds and make sure bright sunlight hits your eyes, Dr. Kothare says. Or get a light box, which you can program to mimic the sun’s light inside (look for one that is at least 10,000 lux). Kothare recommends a Philips GoLite Blu energy light. Use it soon after waking up for at least 30 minutes for the most benefit.

4. Don’t Stay in Bed if You’re Not Asleep

If you find yourself lying in bed awake for more than 15 or 20 minutes, get out of bed and go to another room, Khan says. Staying in bed may send the unhelpful message to your brain that your bed is a place to lie awake and struggle with sleep rather than sleeping quickly and soundly, feeding a vicious cycle that contributes to insomnia.

“Do something relaxing that does not entail using technology,” Khan says. A book (the kind where you turn pages) might do the trick. Then return to bed when you feel sleepy.

5. Don’t Watch the Clock

Seibold says that not checking the clock when he woke up in the middle of the night helped him get back to sleep faster. Checking the clock sets up a process called psychophysiological insomnia, in which worrying about being able to sleep makes it hard to fall asleep, Kothare says. It’s better to be “timeless” in your awareness, he adds.

“I wanted to prevent, as much as possible, thinking about what time it might actually be, since awareness of time was a stressor for me,” Seibold says.

6. Try a Relaxation, Meditation, or Mindfulness App

Other techniques, including progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and yoga, can have the same effect, helping you turn off wandering or disruptive thoughts when you’re trying to sleep, Khan says. A simple way to try one of these techniques is to use an app that guides you through the practices. He recommends Headspace (which draws on mindfulness and meditation techniques) and Sleepio (which is designed specifically for people who struggle with insomnia).

7. Watch What and When You Eat

“Too much sugar and complex carbs can make it difficult to sleep at night,” says Nicole Avena, PhD, a Surf City, New Jersey–based assistant professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. So can eating too close to bedtime.

A healthy, balanced diet with adequate levels of B vitamins can help you sleep well, says Dr. Avena. “The vitamins help regulate the level of the amino acid tryptophan in the body, which in return helps produce sleep-inducing melatonin.” Milk, tuna, turkey, chicken, and oats are all food sources that regulate tryptophan in your body, she adds.

8. Watch What and When You Drink or Smoke

Doug Seibold found gradual relief over the years in what he calls a “fake it till you make it” approach to sleep. If racing thoughts coursed through his mind, he would turn his attention back to calming memories from his past. “I did everything I could to remain as relaxed and unmoving as I possibly could — as though I were still asleep,” he says.

Even though the doctors we spoke with suggest limiting your sleepless time in bed, Seibold found that staying in bed worked for him. Following a routine when it came to sleep helped, too. Now he struggles with falling asleep only about once every month or even two. “The consistency I’ve gradually established in my sleep routines has had a really positive effect on that struggle,” he says.

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